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Geography Terms

converting previously unforested land to forest by planting trees or seeds

aridity

climate with insufficient moisture to support trees or woody plants

Balfour Declaration

1917 British mandate that required the establishment of a Jewish national homeland

desertification

process by which arid and semiarid lands become degraded and less productive, leading to more desertlike conditions

guest worker

a foreigner who is permitted to work in another country on a temporary basis

hajj

pilgrimage to Mecca required of all Muslims

import substitution

process by which domestic producers provide goods or services that were formerly bought from foreign producers

informal economy

economic activities that take place beyond official record and not subject to formalized systems of regulation or remuneration (example, street selling, petty crime)

intifada

the violent uprising of Palestinians against the rule of Israel in the Occupied Territories

Islam

religion that is based on submission to God's will according to the Qur'an

Islamism

anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, and overall

jihad

sacred struggle or striving to carry out God's will according to the tenets of Islam

kinship

shared notion of relationship among members of a group often but not necessarily based on blood, marriage, or adoption
massif

Muslim

member of the Islamic religion

nationalist movement

organized groups of people, sharing common elements of culture, such as language, religion, or history, who wish to determine their own political affairs

nationalization

process of converting key industries from private to governmental organization and control

oasis

spot in the desert made fertile by the availability of surface water

petrodollar

revenues generated by the sale of oil

tribe

form of social identity created by groups who share a common set of ideas about collective loyalty and political action

world religion

belief system with worldwide adherents

Zionism

movement whose chief objective has been the establishment for the Jewish people of a legally recognized home in Palestine

biodiversity

variety in the types and numbers of species in particular regions of the world

biogeography

study of the spatial distribution of vegetation, animals, and other organisms

biome

largest geographic biotic unit, a major community of plants and animals or similar ecosystems

cartogram

map projection that is transformed in order to promote legibility or to reveal patterns not readily apparent on a traditional base map

climate

typical conditions of the weather expected at a place often measured by long

colonialism

establishment and maintenance of political and legal domination by a state over a separate and alien society

colonization

establishment of settlement in a place or region

commodity

anything useful that can be bought or sold

commodity chains

networks of labor and production processes that originate in the extraction or production of raw materials, The end result is the delivery and consumption of a finished commodity

communism

form of economic and social organization characterized by the common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange

continental drift

slow movement of the continents over long periods of time across Earth's surface (see plate tectonics)

culture

shared set of meanings that are lived through the material and symbolic practices of everyday life

demographic transition

replacement of high birth and death rates by low birth and death rates

diaspora

spatial dispersion of a previously homogeneous group

ecosystem

complex of living organisms, their physical environment, and all their relationships in a particular place

gender

social differences between men and women rather than the anatomical differences related to sex

geomorphology

study of landforms
global warming

globalization

increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, environmental, political, and cultural change

greenhouse effect

trapping of heat within the atmosphere by water vapor and gases, such as carbon dioxide, resulting in the warming of the atmosphere and surface

gross domestic product (GDP)

estimate of the total value of all materials, foodstuffs, goods, and services that are produced in a country in a particular year

hegemony

domination over the world economy, exercised through a combination of economic, military, financial, and cultural means, by one national state in a particular historical epoch

imperialism

extension of the power of a nation through direct or indirect control of the economic and political life of other territories

international division of labor

specialization of different people, regions, and countries in certain kinds of economic activities

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

organization that provides loans to governments throughout the world

International regime

orientation of contemporary politics around the international arena rather than the national one

intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)

region where air flows together and rises vertically as a result of intense solar heating at the equator, often with heavy rainfall, and shifting north and south with the seasons

leadership cycles

periods of international power established by individual states through economic, political, and military competition

mercantilism

economic policy in which government controls industry and trade

nation

group of people often sharing common elements of culture, such as religion, language, a history, or political identity

nationalism

feeling of belonging to a nation as well as the belief that a nation has a natural right to determine its own affairs

nation

state

neocolonialism

economic and political strategies by which powerful states in core economies indirectly maintain or extend their influence over other areas or people

neoliberalism

economic doctrine based on a belief in a minimalist role for the state, assuming the desirability of free markets as the ideal condition not only for economic organization but also for social and political life

plate tectonics

theory that Earth's crust is divided into large solid plates that move relative to each other and cause mountain building, volcanic, and earthquake activity when they separate or meet

quaternary activity

economic activity that deals with the handling and processing of knowledge and information

regional geography

study of the ways in which unique combinations of environmental and human factors produce territories with distinctive landscapes and cultural attributes

regionalism

strong feelings of collective identity shared by religious or ethnic groups that are concentrated within a particular region

regionalization

geographer's classification of individual places or areal units

Secondary activity

economic activity involving the processing, transformation, fabrication, or assembly of raw materials, or the reassembly, refinishing, or packaging of manufactured goods

sectionalism

extreme devotion to local interests and customs

sense of place

feelings evoked among people as a result of the experiences and memories that they associate with a place and to the symbolism that they attach to it

social movements

organized movements of people with an agenda of political opposition and activism

sovereignty

exercise of state power over people and territory, recognized by other states and codified by international law

spatial justice

fairness of the distribution of society's burdens and benefits, taking into account spatial variations in people's needs and in their contribution to the production of wealth and social well

state

independent political unit with territorial boundaries that are internationally recognized by other states

structural adjustment policies

economic policies, mostly associated with the International Monetary Fund, that required governments to cut budgets and liberalize trade in return for debt relief

supranational organization

collection of individual states with a common economic and/or political goal that diminishes, to some extent, individual state sovereignty in favor of the collective interests of the membership

sustainable development

vision of development that seeks a balance among economic growth, environmental impacts, and social equity

tertiary activity

economic activity involving the sale and exchange of goods and services

World Bank

development bank and the largest source of development assistance in the world

world region

large scale geographic division based on continental and physiographic settings that contain major clusters of humankind with broadly similar cultural attributes

world system

interdependent system of linked by political and economic competition

Berlin Conference

meeting convened by German chancellor Bismark in 1884 to 85 to divide Africa among European colonial powers

bush fallow

modification of shifting cultivation where crops are rotated around a village and fallow periods are shortened

common market

market in which internal restrictions on the movement of capital, labor, and enterprise are also removed from the basic framework of a customs union

Desertification

process by which arid and semiarid lands become degraded and less productive, leading to more desertlike conditions
Domestification

ethnic group

group of people whose members share cultural characteristics

feminization of poverty

likelihood that women will be poor, malnourished, and otherwise disadvantaged because of inequalities within the household, the community, and the country

G8

Group of Eight countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) whose heads of state meet each year to discuss issues of mutual and global concern

harmattan

hot, dry wind that blows out of inland Africa

homelands

areas set aside in South Africa for black residents as tribal territories where they were given limited self

Irredentism

assertion by the government of a country that a minority living outside its borders belongs to it historically and culturally

microfinance programs

programs that provide credit and savings to the self

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

8 goals to be met by the year 2015, agreed to by the UN, that include the eradication of poverty, universal primary education, gender equality, reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health, combating of disease

system of farming and way of life based on keeping herds of grazing animals

shifting cultivation

agricultural system that preserves soil fertility by moving crops from one plot to another

slash and burn

agricultural system often used in tropical forests that involves cutting trees and brush and burning them so that crops can benefit from cleared ground and nutrients in the ash

Transhumance

movement of herds according to seasonal rhythms: warmer, lowland areas in the winter, and cooler, highland areas in the summer

Tribe

form of social identity created by groups who share a common set of ideas about collective loyalty and political action

Asian Tigers

newly industrialized territories of Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore that have experienced rapid economic Growth and become semiperipheral within the world

chaebol

South Korean term for the very large corporations in that country that, with government help, control numerous businesses and dominate the national economy

counterurbanization

net loss of population from cities to smaller towns and rural areas

feng shui

application of a collection of ancient principles of geomancy that are believed by adherents to ensure health, wealth, happiness, long life, and healthy offspring through the spatial organization of cities, buildings, and furniture

import substitution

process by which domestic producers provide goods or services that were formerly bought from foreign producers

keiretsu

Japanese business networks facilitated after World War II by the Japanese government in order to promote national recovery

chain of seismic instability and volcanic activity that stretches from Southeast Asia through the Philippines, and down the Pacific coast of the Americas to the southern Andes in Chile, It is caused by the tension built up by moving tectonic plates

Silk Road

ancient east-west trade route between Europe and China.

zaibatsu

large Japanese conglomerate corporation

bonded labor

labor that is pledged against an outstanding debt.

caste

system of kinship groupings that is reinforced by language, religion, and occupation.

distributary

river branch that flows away from the main stream.

microfinance programs

programs that provide credit and savings to the self

monsoon

seasonal reversal of wind flows in parts of the lower to middle latitudes, During the cool season, a dry monsoon occurs as dry offshore winds prevail; in hot summer months a wet monsoon occurs as onshore winds bring large amounts of rainfall.

orographic effect

influence of hills and mountains in lifting airstreams, cooling the air, and thereby inducing precipitation.

Raj

rule of the British in India.

Aborigines

indigenous peoples of Australia

Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)

association of more than 40 low lying, mostly island, countries that have formed an alliance to combat global warming, which threatens their existence through sea

Antarctic Treaty

international agreement to demilitarize the Antarctic continent, delay mineral exploration, and preserve it for scientific research

atoll

low lying island landform consisting of a circle of coral reefs around a lagoon, often associated with the rim of a submerged volcano or mountain

cargo cult

Pacific island religious movements in which the dawn of a coming new age was associated with the arrival of goods brought by spiritual beings or foreigners

cattle station

livestock enterprises where cattle (or sheep) are raised on large grazing leases in the remote regions of Australia

Closer Economic Relations (CER) Agreement

agreement in 1983 that built upon an earlier New Zealand

common property resources

resources such as fish or forests that are managed collectively by a community that has rights to the resource rather than it being owned by individuals

Dreamtime

aboriginal worldview that links past and future, people and places, in a continuity that ensures respect for the natural world

ecological imperialism

concept developed by historian Alfred Crosby to describe the way in which European organisms were able to take over the ecosystems of other regions of the world, often with devastating impacts on local peoples, flora, and fauna

ecosystem

complex of living organisms, their physical environment, and all their relationships in a particular place

Great Artesian Basin

world's largest reserve of underground water located in central Australia and under pressure so that water rises to the surface when wells are bored

intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)

region where air flows together and rises vertically as a result of intense solar heating at the equator, often with heavy rainfall, and shifting north and south with the seasons

marsupial

Australian mammal such as the kangaroo, koala, and wombat that gives birth to premature infants that then develop and feed from nipples in a pouch on the mother's body

Melanesia

region of the western Pacific that includes the westerly and largest islands of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia

Outback

dry and thinly populated interior of Australia

ozone depletion

loss of the protective layer of ozone gas that prevents harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching Earth's surface and causing increases in skin cancer and other ecological damage

Polynesia

central and southern Pacific islands that include the independent countries of Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tuvalu; American Samoa; the French territories of Wallis and Fortuna and French Polynesia

South Pacific Forum

institution that promotes discussion and cooperation on trade, fisheries, and tourism between all of the independent and self

stolen generation

Aboriginal children that were forcibly removed from their homes in Australia and placed in white foster homes or institutions

subsistence affluence

achievement of a good standard of living through reliance on self

theory of island biogeography

theory that smaller islands will generally be less biologically diverse than larger ones

Treaty of Waitangi

1840 agreement in which 40 Maori chiefs gave the Queen of England governance over their land and the right to purchase it in exchange for protection and citizenship,It provides the basis for Maori land rights and New Zealand's bicultural society

White Australia policy

Australian policy, until 1975, that restricted immigration to people from northern Europe through a ranking that placed British and Scandinavians as the highest priority, followed by southern Europeans, with the goal of attaining a homogenized